MENDOZA, Argentina -- Paraguay advanced to the Copa America final against Uruguay by beating Venezuela in a penalty shootout on Wednesday following a goalless draw.

Paraguay won the shootout 5-3 -- the only miss coming when Justo Villar stopped Franklin Lucena's shot. Dario Veron netted the final spot kick to set up Sunday's final against Uruguay, which beat Peru 2-0 in the other semifinal on Tuesday.

Venezuela, known more for its baseball, came up just short of reaching the final of the South American competition for the first time.

Paraguay advances to its first Copa America final since 1979 despite not having won any of its five matches so far. It eliminated Brazil in another penalty shootout in the quarterfinals.

After the shootout, a brawl between the teams started as Paraguay celebrated, prompting police to intervene. That came after a game in which Paraguay had its coach and assistant coach expelled from the sideline for arguing decisions.

Hey National Mango Board (NMB) of Orlando, Florida ...There is an event in your very own back yard this weekend.

Ann Pidgeon of Colorfield farms, located in Wimauma, Florida is hosting her 3rd annual mango festival so that USA consumers can taste a real fresh mango.

I can't think of any thing more interesting than the National mango Board (NMB) heading over to the event to defend the fraudulent advertising and promotion campaign they have been squandering tax payer money on for years.

The NMB would be laughed out of the county and probably the State of Florida!

Bring JANGO MANGO and the rest of the Clowns at the NMB circus...Let the consumer decide in a "head to head" taste test...HWT mangoes versus tree ripened Florida grown mangoes...gee...I wonder who would win...

It wouldn't even be close!!!!

The snake oil salesman William Watson and his traveling NMB circus would be run…

TOKYO: Pakistan has started mango diplomacy with Japan to get a toehold in the lucrative market, officials said on Tuesday.

The government of Pakistan has sent thousands of kilograms of mangoes as official gift to Japanese dignitaries including the Emperor, the Prime Minister, and scores of senior officials, officials said.

This was the first shipment of Pakistani mangoes to Japan. Pakistan has been finally able to meet the Japanese condition of Vapour Heat Treatment of mangoes before shipment to Japan. As such, the first consignment consisted of complementary boxes of mangoes from the government of Pakistan.

The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan Chief Executive Tariq Puri was also in Japan to lay the groundwork for commercial export of mangoes, officials said.

The Akala trading centre’s bus stage along the Kisumu-Bondo Road is usually abuzz with activities that can keep one entertained the whole day.

The best is the women mango sellers and their antics.

To sell the mangoes they carry in small basins, about 20 women rush to a matatu that has just stopped.

NOT SO JUICY: It is the mango season in Gem but the succulent fruits are going for a song and the sellers are not impressed by their empty pockets. Photo: Titus Munala/StandardSometimes they all gather around one potential buyer who has shown some interest in their succulent wares. In the end of the jostling, one of them strikes a deal with a buyer, sometimes all are unlucky.

There are more than 200 women selling a basin of about 30 mangoes for Sh30, which means a shilling a piece. It is a routine they engage in for two annual seasons of the fruit.

Akala and Ndori areas of Siaya County are said to have the largest amoun…

“At the moment we will continue to ship few more shipments and see how the Japanese consumer like the taste, packaging and size of the fruit”, says an exporter. After that PFVA will make a feasibility report to the government of Pakistan for setting up VHT (Vapor Heat Treatment) plant near Karachi Airport.

Link found between increased crops and deforestation in Amazon, but issue not so cut and dry

by Staff Writers
Manhattan KS (SPX) Jul 20, 2011

File image.

A Kansas State University geographer is part of a research team out to prove what environmental scientists have suspected for years: Increasing the production of soybean and biofuel crops in Brazil increases deforestation in the Amazon.

Although this cause-and-effect finding seems fairly straightforward, the issue of deforestation in the Amazon is more complex and more devastating than previously believed, said Marcelus Caldas, an assistant professor of geography at Kansas State University.

Caldas and his colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin and Michigan State University published their findings in a recent issue of the environmental science journal, Environmental Research Letters.

Their study, "Statistical confirmation of indirect land use change in the Brazilian Amazon," looks at how mechanized agriculture in Brazi…

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping vowed to crush any threats to stability in Tibet, taking a swipe at the Dalai Lama in a speech Tuesday marking 60 years since China cemented control over the region.

Xi spoke a day after the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, concluded a visit to the United States during which he was welcomed warmly by President Barack Obama, angering China, which labels the monk a "separatist".

"We should fight against separatist activities by the Dalai group... and take measures to address root causes, and smash any attempt to undermine stability in Tibet and the national unity of the motherland," Xi said.

Xi, widely expected to take over as Chinese president by 2013, addressed an audience of thousands assembled on the central squ…